Crawford’s IMPACT Awards give UK employees the chance to nominate colleagues for their outstanding ideas, contributions and teamwork, all of which have never been more important as the company rallies in response to COVID-19.
Crawford’s employees have risen to the multiple challenges created by the pandemic – and it was no surprise that many of our most recent IMPACT Award winners earned recognition for the great ingenuity, resilience and camaraderie they have shown in the face of adversity.
“When faced with a global crisis, our team has really stepped up,” Crawford UK & Ireland President Lisa Bartlett told employees at a virtual ceremony on 31 July. “From providing exceptional customer service or implementing new procedures, to creating a more positive working environment or embodying the One Crawford value, the nominees for the most recent awards have all demonstrated that it is people that make the difference to our business.”
One of the biggest achievements of 2020 was the successful pivoting of Crawford’s IT infrastructure to cope with the switch to home working. The expansion of performance dashboards, for example, was vital in keeping the business running as usual, and several employees were recognized for work on IT projects that ensured a seamless transition.
“Turning a team used to working in an office into an entirely home-based one was no mean feat, but thanks to the efforts of our winners we got our employees set up happily, quickly and effectively,”
Ensuring all employees were kept informed and updated on the company’s response was essential during lockdown, and Bartlett praised the communications effort. “Lockdown and increased home working had the potential to make people feel isolated. Internal communication has been excellent throughout, boosting morale and providing a vital source of information for people working remotely,” she explained.
Several team leaders took it upon themselves to launch virtual activities during lockdown to keep employees engaged and entertained, from a bi-weekly‘Take 5 Tech Break’ in which team members could develop their technical knowledge to ‘Lockdown Showdowns’ and other forms of light relief. “This brought people together and fostered a really strong sense of family,” Bartlett said.
Crucially, with teams feeling physically and emotionally supported and prepared, customers and clients experienced no changes to the quality and level of service Crawford provides, she said.
Even during the 2020 flood surge, Crawford’s experts were able to help customers through their claims, respond quickly to queries, and co-ordinate complex site visits for customers, suppliers and adjusters, Bartlett explained.
Employees showed great ingenuity to overcome the challenges of handling claims in the midst of a pandemic. There have been countless efforts from employees across the organization who have gone the extra mile to support customers and each other, many of whom were recognized at the IMPACT Awards.
“We’re so proud of how each and every one of you has risen to the significant challenges we’ve all faced in the last six months,” Bartlett concluded.
